One of the things I hate about our politics-obsessed news culture is that we're already talking about 2016 in 2013, just as we were already talking about 2012 in 2009, and so on. I hate it more than ever this time around because we're talking so much about Hillary Clinton.
This bothers me because, of course, she is about the last person on Earth who should be president of the United States, and a political culture that treats her as a viable option (let alone a prohibitive favorite) is deeply troubling. But it also bothers me because it's hard to figure out. Why would Democrats and the media want so badly to get behind this woman? She is shrill and unappealing. She offers no compelling policy ideas. She has no real track record of achievement.
She is, all in all, an individual whose only noteworthy "strength," if you want to call it that, is unbridled personal ambition of stratospheric proportions. I guess they respect that in the political world but I don't see how it recommends her as leader of the free world.
But even more so, it's hard to see why Bill Clinton wants it. "She's his wife!" you say. "Of course he supports her." Well, on the surface that makes sense, but when you remember what their marriage is really like and you recall the size of Bill's own ego, do you really think he wants to be only one of two presidents in that marriage?
But there is one explanation that makes perfect sense, and it's the only one that works for either one of them. Hillary is elected, and Bill essentially returns to the presidency. He makes the decisions. She is nothing but a figurehead. And in his own charming way, he makes sure everyone knows it.
This has to be the case for several reasons:
Hillary has proven that she cannot handle a job with serious responsibilities. Her time in the Senate was marked by politically safe maneuvering and no real legislative accomplishment of any kind. Her legacy as Secretary of State is classic Hillary. She logged a lot of air miles. She "worked hard" or something. She screamed at members of Congress when they dared to question her. Examples of how the world is a better place as a result of her efforts? Non-existent. Of course. HillaryCare? Exactly. So why would anyone - Hillary included - think she could handle the responsibilities of the presidency? They wouldn't. Even she knows the job is way over her head. She is the primary creator, after all, of her own fraudulent political persona. She knows what a sham it is. She knows she can't handle the presidency. And Bill Clinton of all people knows what it takes to handle the presidency, and he knows she doesn't have it.
It might seem like a challenge to Bill's ego to do all the work and let Hillary take all the credit, but you know Bill will find a solution to that. He'll be everywhere. In front of the cameras. On Capitol Hill. Showing up in the briefing room. Talking to world leaders. Bill will assure everyone - wink, wink - that Hillary is really the boss, in that inimitable Bill Clinton way that makes sure you know perfectly well what he really means.
The only real reason Hillary is a viable contender is that the Clinton machine is the strongest thing in Democratic Party politics, and it is firmly behind her. That is only true because Bill wants it to be, and Bill doesn't do anything that is not in his own best interests.
That's what this is all about, folks. Sixteen years after leaving the presidency, Bill Clinton finds his way around the 22nd Amendment and returns to the Oval Office.
By the way, how will this go? My guess is not well at all. Initially Hillary will bask in the self-affirmation of becoming the first female president, but soon it will burn her butt that he is calling all the shots and she is expected to go along with the charade. And of course, at some point Bill will do something that royally pisses her off and she will wish she could throw him over, but she'll know she can't because she can't be what her ego needs her to be without him.
What is her qualification to be president? The same qualification she's had for everything else in her life. Her husband. It's amazing to me that she is a feminist icon. She is the quintessential kept wife, no matter how convincingly they both perform the charade that would have us believe otherwise.
Do you want another four (or eight) years of President Bill Clinton? Because that's what a vote for Hillary would be.
